The title of this article is an excerpt from Justice LaForme’s dissent, in an Ontario’s Court of Appeal decision dealing with the multiple spouse conundrum in the context of Ontario’s Pensions Benefits Act. This is not an endorsement of bigamy. It is addressing a growing social phenomenon.
When an elderly person initiates a new relationship it can sometimes plant the seeds of litigation. Perhaps the elderly person needs a caregiver. Or maybe they strike up a friendship with a contemporary for companionship. Perchance, in an effort to reduce expenses, they take on boarders or tenants. But at death, those seeds can bloom into full-fledged litigation. The adult children of the elderly person might be caught off guard when the caregiver/companion or tenant/boarder claims to be a common law spouse. That is exactly what happened in Prelorentzos v. Havaris.
In this blog, I discuss the framework for Motions for interim Dependant support and compare and contrast two Court decisions to assist the reader to better understand under which circumstances a Court might be more likely to grant interim Dependant support.
The lawyers discuss the circumstance where the deceased had a relationship with someone outside of their marriage who wants her “fair” share of the inheritance. The video discusses the second “wife’s” entitlement under the Succession Law Reform Act and case law.